Sweet Charity

Author(s): Ryne (Portland)
Sweet Charity

Directed by Rob Marshall
Written by Rob Marshall

Main Cast:

Reese Witherspoon as Charity Hope Valentine
James Marsden as Oscar Lindquist
Amy Ryan as Nickie
Michelle Monaghan as Helene
Jack Black as Herman
With cameos by: Matt Damon as Vittorio Vidal
Gwyneth Paltrow as Ursula
Will Farrell as Daddy Brubeck

Tagline: "The Fickle Finger of Fate is Back"

Synopsis: Charity Hope Valentine (Witherspoon) has finally found true love. As she rounds the corner into Central Park, there he is. Slick leather coat, big black sunglass, Charlie stands by the lake looking around. While Charlie silently preens himself, Charity speaks the lines she imagines him saying, and tells him how handsome he is. Charity steps toward the lake then SPALSH! Charlie runs off with Charity's purse in hand. After finding her way out of the lake, Charity heads off to work at the Fandango Ballroom convinced it was all just an accident. Charity tells her best friends Nicke (Ryan), the sassy and confident lead hostess, and Helene (Monaghan), a loving and caring girl, about how Charlie ran off to get help. Nicke tells Charity that the problem is she runs her heart like a hotel; people are always checking in and out. The ballroom's manager, Herman (Black), comes into the room and says its time for work. The hostess girls seduce the audience in the front room of the Fandango Ballroom while Helene and Nickie try to comfort Charity about Charlie's absence.

On a New York street, after work, Charity walks past the Pompeii club telling herself she won't give anymore, but just as she comes to that realization, out walks movie superstar Vittorio Vidal (Damon) chasing his mistress, Ursula (Paltrow). Ursula refuses to go back inside the club with Vittorio, who promptly takes the star struck Charity instead. Vittorio and Charity begin to talk, but to Charity's displeasure, the topic is Ursula. Charity is able to convince Vittorio to dance and they do. However, she hasn't had anything to eat since breakfast and faints. Vittorio takes Charity back to his apartment. At Vittorio's apartment, Charity admits she's a dance hall hostess blaming the fickle finger of fate. Vittorio is struck by her humor and honesty and offers her a few items to show the other hostess. While he fetches those items, Ursula arrives to apologize for walking out on Vittorio. Charity is swiftly bundled into a closet before Ursula enters. Ursula wants to talk about her and Vittorio's relationship and Charity can't help but open the closet door to watch. Things begin to get heated between Vittorio and Ursula and Charity finally closes the closet door and falls asleep. The following morning, Charity is escorted from the room by a mortified Vittorio who is embarrassed and blushing.

In the Hostess Room, the girls are disappointed that Charity failed to get more out of Vittorio when Nickie suddenly talks about how she is not going to stick this crummy job for the rest of her life, prompting Charity and Helene to join in speculate on alternative careers, but Herman brings them back down to earth. After tasting a little of the high life with Vittorio, Charity decides to take a class at the YMCA where she gets stuck in a broken elevator with shy, panicky Oscar Lindquist (Marsden). Oscar begins to freakout because of his claustrophobia and then the lights also go out. After about an hour, the elevator starts to work again and Oscar invites Charity to go to the Rhythm of Life church with him. Oscar, however, has never been there before. The Rhythm of Life church turns out to be a hippie "church" run by Daddy Brubeck (Farrell). The police raid the meeting and in the mad rush, Oscar proposes another date to Charity. Oscar kisses Charity's hand and calls her "Sweet Charity."

Two weeks later, Charity still hasn't told Oscar what she truly does for a living. The two go to Coney Island where they once again get stuck. This time on top of the Farris wheel. This time Charity is the scared one while Oscar is unusually calm. The two share their first kiss when Charity tells Oscar she is scared because she is starting to depend on him. But Charity can still not bring herself to tell him about her profession.

The next day at the Fandango Ballroom, Nickie and Helene convince Charity that she must tell Oscar about being a ballroom hostess. Charity immediately sends Oscar a telegram to meet her at Barney's Chile Hacienda. There, Charity finally admits to Oscar she is a ballroom hostess and Oscar admits he already knows; he followed her one night and watched her dance. Oscar doesn't care though and wants to marry Charity.

After a farewell party through by Herman at the ballroom, Charity and Oscar take a walk through Central Park where Oscar tells Charity that he cannot go through with the wedding because he is unable to stop thinking about the other men from the dance hall. Not knowing what else to do, Oscar pushes a pleading Charity into the lake and runs off. Emerging from the lake, Charity realizes Oscar has not stolen her bag and her heart did not trick her this time. On her way home, Charity notices a café accepting new waitress. She walks into the café and begins the next chapter in the life of Charity Hope Valentine.

What the Press would say:

Well, the fickle finger of fate is back and it is better than ever! Rob Marshall's "Sweet Charity" is a tender, poignant, and consistently funny look at the adventures, or rather, misadventures in the ways of love encountered by the lady known as Charity Hope Valentine. It is a musical in every sense of the word. Marshall's version success on a level that not even the original Tony award winner could. Marshall is able to cut out all the unnecessary scenes that provide nothing to the plot to make everything flow easily. In a relatively long movie for its kind, 2 and ½ hours, Marshall keeps the pace and energy going throughout the film. With cameos from actors such as Will Farrell and Gwyneth Paltrow, "Sweet Charity" makes the time fly by. Will Farrell's five minutes are some of the funniest in cinematic history as he sings to us about psychedelic 'shooms and the horror of marijuana. The film has a terrific main supporting cast led by outstanding Amy Ryan. Ryan follows up "Gone Baby Gone" by giving another amazing performance. She steps back to her Broadway days and shines as Charity's realistic best friend Nickie. Amy Ryan has the sass and, dare I say, balls necessary to pull off this difficult role. Nickie dreams of a better future, but tells herself it cannot be gone, which breaks the audience's heart. James Marsden is utterly stupendous as the shy and panicky tax accountant, Oscar Lindquist. Marsden times every movement and motion perfect to convey Oscar's personality. He is absolutely fantastic in this role. However, this movie relies heavily on Reese Witherspoon and she becomes this movie. We laugh, we cry, we laugh some more, and cry some more all because of Witherspoon's Oscar worthy performance. She completely throws herself into this role and it pays off big time. Charity simply wants to be loved, but her gullibility leads her to love men who don't love her back and when she finally finds the right man, her desperate situation drives him away. Witherspoon triumphs in this role and I don't think seeing another actress play Charity will ever work again. Witherspoon has just set the bar too high. Overall, the strong performances, and wonderful music make "Sweet Charity" the best musical since Marshall last film, Chicago, and the best film of the year.

FYC:

Best Picture
Best Director (Rob Marshall)
Best Actress (Reese Witherspoon)
Best Actor (James Marsden)
Best Supporting Actress (Amy Ryan)
Best Supporting Actor (Will Farrell)
Best Adapted Screenplay